Related Stories

Anyone expecting, or even hoping, that the Linus Omark Experiment would consist of 17 straight games of top-six minutes, you’re out of luck.

And so, too, might be Omark.

While many fans want the Edmonton Oilers to play him in every game down the stretch, on the first or second line, to see what they’ve got in this kid, it’s not going to happen.

“When we’re healthy I don’t know that he needs to be a top-six guy, but he’s certainly a top-nine guy, ” head coach Tom Renney said Monday, after the Oilers recalled the 25-year-old left winger from Oklahoma City. “He’s got to play, (but) so do others. I think he’s got himself an opportunity here to jump in and play some significant games. But whether he plays every one of these games moving forward or not, I’m in no way shape or form ready to talk about that.”

Omark, who’s played 56 career NHL games, will have to clear waivers if they want to demote him after 60. How many he plays down the stretch here, and in what role, is up to the organization, but it sounds like Omark has to show — and rather quickly, it would seem — that he’s deserving of high-end minutes and linemates.

Renney says they still believe in him and still sees a future for him in Edmonton, but on a team with a lot of small, skilled forwards, his name isn’t exactly being filed under Lead Pipe Cinch.

“Where this ends up going is hard to say,” said Renney. “I think there is an opportunity for him, should he come back (next year), to have a really strong training camp. With the right set of circumstances he could be very good for us. Or, if not for us, then for other teams in the league. I believe strongly that he’s an NHL player.”

This isn’t just about the Oilers deciding whether they want Omark. If he doesn’t like the vibe he’s getting from the organization, he can head back to Europe next season.

“There’s nothing wrong with a player evaluating a program, either,” said Renney. “I think it’s OK for a player to sit back and say ‘I’ve had my shots, here’s what I like and maybe there’s a better opportunity somewhere else.’ I think that’s fine.”

For his part, Omark is keeping the talk to a minimum. His dream was, and still is, to be an impact player in the NHL.

“That has been my goal since I came over here, I want to play in this league,” he said. “I want to play in the NHL. I want to show I belong in this league. I will hopefully do it.”

SHOULDER BLADE

They weren’t the shots heard ’round the world, but the snappers Taylor Hall ripped off the side boards at the morning skate were loud enough to keep him in the lineup.

After waking up with a sore shoulder on Sunday and being held out of practice, he had to demonstrate that he’s good to go.

“Taking shots is usually the thing that would hurt it and it didn’t at all,” said Hall, who took a bump early in Edmonton’s last game with Dallas but didn’t miss a shift.

“It was a little sore when I woke up Sunday so they recommended not to practice. And we used that time to get the swelling down and make sure it was good.

“It’s fine. It was just a maintenance day, it wasn’t anything was meant to be read into too much.”

DUCK’S FOOT

The last time Edmonton saw Devante Smith-Pelly he was hobbling off the ice with a broken foot during a World Junior Championship game at Rexall Place.

“It’s 100% now,” said the former Team Canada and current Ducks winger. “It was a long way back, obviously, not the way I wanted it to go. But I’m happy to be back in the lineup now.”

Part of him still wonders what might have happened in Edmonton and Calgary if he’d been able to stay healthy.

“All of me kind of wishes I was healthy,” he laughed. “I don’t know if it would have changed the result, but I’m still happy I got the chance to be a part of that.”

MARATHON MAN

Monday was Jonas Hiller’s 61st start of the season. He’s played all but six games for Anaheim.

“He’s played so well it’s hard to go back to another guy,” said head coach Bruce Boudreau. “I ask him every day how he’s feeling and he always says he’s feeling great.

“He’s a guy who plays the games but hasn’t really practised a lot. It’s kept him fresh. This is what (Martin) Brodeur has done for years, he plays 75 games a year, but doesn’t practice.”

Hiller’s workhorse mentality makes it tough on current back-up Jeff Deslauriers, who’s played one game this season.

“This is like my first year in Edmonton, when we had me, Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson,” he said. “You always want to have an impact on the team, more than not playing. But right now my role is to support the other guy. I won’t lie, sometimes it’s hard because you don’t play, but practice is when I try to get better.”